Arts Notes: 'Million Dollar Quartet,' which comes to the Moran Theatre, was inspired by a memorable 1956 recording session

Fri, Apr 18, 2014 @ 12:49 pm
| updated Sat, Apr 19, 2014 @ 10:14 pm

When Elvis Presley performed at the Florida Theatre in August 1956, he did so under the watchful eye of Juvenile Court Judge Marion Gooding, who had threatened to have Presley arrested if he didn’t control his famously active pelvis.

Four months later, on Dec, 4, 1956, Presley got together with Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, and Johnny Cash in the Sun Record Studios in Memphis, Tenn., for one of the more famous recording sessions in rock ‘n’ roll history.

That recording session, dubbed “the million dollar quartet,” was the inspiration for the musical “Million Dollar Quartet,” which opens Tuesday for the first of eight performances in the Moran Theatre of The Times-Union Center for the Performing Arts, 300 Water St.

Shows will be at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday; 8 p.m. Friday; 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday; and 1:30 and 7 p.m. Sunday, April 27. Tickets, which range from $32-$87, can be purchased at www.artistseriesjax.org or by calling (904) 442-2929.

New organ at First Presbyterian

First Presbyterian Church, located at Monroe and Ocean streets in downtown Jacksonville, recently installed a new digital organ that made its debut during Palm Sunday services.

The organ was built by the Allen Organ Company in Allentown, Pa., for a church in Texas. The Texas church changed its musical direction and no longer needed an organ. First Presbyterian Music Minister Sonny Stroud asked the church to acquire the organ and church leaders unanimously approved.

The organ can play and accompany a diverse style of worship music. First Presbyterian has also added a youth orchestra, which is under the direction of Brian Osborne, a trumpet player with the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra.

Watercolor Society meeting in Ponte Vedra

The Jacksonville Watercolor Society will have a meeting from 7-9 p.m. Tuesday at the Cultural Center at Ponte Vedra Beach, 50 Executive Way. Bob Drost will give a presentation about drawing faces. The meeting is free to the public

MOSH talks chickens

Backyard chickens will be the subject of MOSH After Dark, which begins at 6:30 p.m. Thursday at the Museum of Science & History, 1025 Museum Circle. Cost is $5, $4 for museum members. Register at www.themosh.org.

Becca Stevens at Underbelly

The Becca Stevens Band will perform at 7:30 p.m. Sunday, April 27, at Underbelly, 113 E. Adams St., as part of the Riverside Fine Arts Series. Tickets are $20 for adults, $10 for students with valid ID. To purchase tickets go to www.riversidefinearts.org.

Symphony in Palm Coast

The Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra will play the seventh annual Symphony in Central Park in Palm Coast at 8 p.m. Sunday, April 27. Tickets are $40, $35 for members of the Palm Coast Arts Foundation. They can be purchased at thepcaf.org or by calling (386) 263-2991.

Women sing about chocolate

The North Florida Women’s Chorale will perform a concert, “Chocolate and Other Delights,” at 3 p.m. Sunday, April 27, in St. Mark’s Lutheran Church, 3976 Hendricks Ave. A chocolate reception will follow the concert, which is free to the public.